


A Hunt

by That_One_Yaoi_Kid



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Cuddling, Fluffy, M/M, Negan is Otis when Carl is shot, anon request
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-10
Updated: 2017-07-10
Packaged: 2018-11-30 13:11:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11464290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/That_One_Yaoi_Kid/pseuds/That_One_Yaoi_Kid
Summary: Anon requested: if you feel inclined to write one it would be cool to read a pic based on the au prompt you got where carl is older when he gets shot through the deer, and the one who shoots him is actually negan ! just a thought (:Prompt from another helpful anon =)





	A Hunt

“Get fucked, Daryl!” Carl whisper-yells, punching the redneck in the shoulder. Daryl doesn’t smile often, but for the first time in a while, Carl catches a small glimpse of a grin and Carl’s cheeks ache with a wide smile.

Their movements are quiet but brisk, and Carl's fingers twitch over his machete, and Daryl clutches his crossbow like his life depends on it when a twig snaps near them. 

Carl unsheathes his machete and Daryl aims down his crossbow as a large, black bunny comes scurrying out from the treeline beside them. Daryl squeezes the trigger and just before he releases the arrow, Aaron's calm, yet penetrating voice rings out behind them. “Hey!”

Carl moves quickly, his reflexes sharp after all these years and he uses all his strength to shove Aaron into a rotting oak tree, the blade of his machete pressed against his throat.

Carl bares his teeth and Aaron's eyes widen, by now the rabbit is long gone and Daryl is yelling a string of incoherent curses. “What the hell were you thinking?!” Daryl shouts, pointing a finger at the trembling man.

Aaron wheezes, and Carl finally lets off when he realizes he’s choking Aaron. The man crumbles to his knees, and Carl doesn’t even blink before snarling, “We’re hunting, and you thought it’d be a good idea to yell?” 

Aaron coughs, massaging his throat where Carl’s blade practically strangled him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you had something.” His voice is croaky now, and it’ll probably be gone for the next couple of days.

Aaron clambers to his feet, coughing and wheezing. Daryl’s heavy breathing is the only thing heard next to Aaron choking, and Carl sheathes his knife before moving forward. 

It’s a good minute or two before the two men catch up with Carl, and it’s back to leaves softly crunching underneath their feet and the sounds of the forest around them; locusts, cicadas, and crows. Carl looks around, and another twig snaps and the leaves rustle just a few feet in front of them. 

Once again, Daryl aims down his crossbow and Aaron fumbles to raise his rifle. Carl watches the treeline with curiosity, fingers never once moving for his weapon. He catches a small glimpse of a brown coat carefully spotted with white. 

Carl feels the corners of his lips twitch into a small smile, and his remaining blue eye glistens with happiness. Gradually, a large white tailed deer emerges from the tree line, and Carl’s smile grows ever so slightly. He cautiously makes way over to the deer, its head down and softly chewing grass.

Daryl squeezes the trigger of the crossbow so it can go straight for the eyes, but Aaron’s hand on his chest stops him. Daryl shoots him an aggravated glance, to which Aaron almost joyfully responds with a pointed finger at Carl, who is slowly approaching the animal.

The two men stand back, grinning and smiling ever so slightly.

A leaf crunches under Carl’s foot and he freezes, his eye lit up like it’s Christmas again as the deer’s head snaps over to meet his crystal blue eye, the deer’s ears twitching.

The deer, (who Carl mentally has named Philip) stares back at Carl, who is amazed while Philip is more curious. Large brown eyes meet a blue one, the other bandaged tightly before a loud gunshot booms throughout the forest, the deer collapses on it’s side and Carl’s knees buckle as he grunts when the speeding bullet crashes into his torso.

“Shit!” Daryl shouts, raising his crossbow in front of them, where the bullet came from as Aaron rushes to Carl’s side, who is now on his back, raised up on his elbows as he groans. Aaron’s rifle is long forgotten now, and places a large hand on the bullet wound, right where his large intestine would be.

With one glance back at Aaron and Carl, he disappears in the treeline to find the shooter and Aaron runs a hand through Carl’s brown tresses. “Hey, hey. Carl? Carl, look at me.” The teen slowly meets Aaron’s concerned eyes and the man smiles ever so slightly. “You’re alright, Carl. Come on, stay with me. If you can survive a shot in the head you can survive this, kiddo.”

Carl wheezes and just barely nods and the trees rustle in from of them. Aaron looks up and sees Daryl dragging a much larger man, an older man with a salt-and-pepper beard. His outfit is ridiculous in this heat; a leather jacket over what might be a white t-shirt, tight dark brown pants, and large black leather boots.

“Shit, shit, shit!” The man exclaims, a large sniper rifle is slung over his shoulder and he’s carrying a wooden baseball dressed in bloody barbed wire. Aaron’s nose scrunches up in disgust and before he can make another move, the man has carelessly dropped the baseball bat and grabs Carl, picking him up carefully. 

He looks back at Daryl and Aaron, “Where’s your camp? You got a doctor?” The man asks and Daryl is the one to nod, and he running ahead of them, the man not far behind as Aaron stands behind, stunned.

Hesitantly, he picks up the bat and gives their area once last look before taking after them.  
\--  
When they arrive at Alexandria, Tobin and Francine open the gate without hesitation, panicked almost when they see the stranger carrying an unconscious and heavily bleeding Carl.

Rick who steps out of the Pantry house in time to catch the four, and he rushes towards them, yelling orders. Michonne runs off to alert Denise in the infirmary and Rick meets the four in the middle, and they continuing rushing towards the infirmary where Denise is already prepared, the gurney set up perfectly, IV bags at the ready and all their medicine available. 

 

Rick swings the door open and the stranger rushes in, gently placing the one-eyed boy of the gurney where Denise and Tara quickly get to work, Rosita out to on a supply run with Maggie and Eric. 

The man backs up, giving the two healers room to help Carl as Michonne stands beside him, watching his every move with his fingers twitching over the handle of her sword. Daryl is the one to hold Rick back from getting in Denise and Tara’s way. 

Aaron stands in the doorway, still in shock from everything happening so fast. “Everyone clear out!” Denise orders, applying pressure to the gunshot wound and everyone obeys, with Michonne shoving the stranger out of the room. Aaron shuts the door behind them and Rick almost glares at the leather-clad man.

“What the hell happened?” Rick yells, never once breaking his gaze at the man, who puts his hands up in surrender. 

“Carl was admiring a deer, then this shithead shot it and the bullet landed in the kid.” Daryl grunts, swinging a hand around in the air.

The strangers sighs, rubbing his face with both hands. “Hey, I wasn’t aiming for him.” 

Rick grunts in frustration and Michonne is quick to place a hand on his chest. She gives him a look, to which he reluctantly takes and Michonne turns back to the stranger. “We understand. What’s your name?”

“Negan.” The man replies with no hesitation. “And your’s?” 

Everyone says their individual names, although Daryl must announce Aaron’s who is trembling, back against the door with his hand clutching the doorknob. Negan nods, “I really am sorry about your boy.”

The group except Aaron all nod, but Rick’s blood still boils.  
\--  
An hour later when Tara enters the room to tell them about Carl, Rick is still seething, his fists clenching and unclenching.

“Carl’s finally stable, and he’ll be alright. Bullet didn’t go through, but it didn’t separate either. He should be awake soon.” Tara announces shakily, her hands caked in a thin layer of blood, Carl’s blood.

They all have a few minutes alone with Carl when he wakes up. Rick and Michonne first, then Daryl, and then Tara. Eventually, they all went back to work. Rick and Michonne were walking up and down the streets for whatever reason, Negan wasn’t sure of, Daryl went back out to finish hunting and Tara and Denise started sorting their medical supplies. 

Negan sits on a chair just outside of the room Carl is in, where he can hear soft humming inside. Aaron slowly approaches Negan, gingerly holding the bat. Negan glances over at Aaron and takes him from him with a deep laugh, “Thanks. Aaron, right?” The man in question nods and disappears down the hall without another word. Negan raises an eyebrow at Aaron’s back but returns his look towards the bedroom door.

The incoherent humming soon morphs into something Negan can recognize as You are My Sunshine and he gives a wide grin. He suddenly rises to his feet and lets himself in, and he stands in the doorway where the humming stops.

In fact, the humming turns into a quiet giggle, almost. “So…” the teen drawls, “you’re the asshole who shot me through a deer.” The kid’s voice is light and playful and Negan laughs.

The kid has overgrown brown hair, spread out in a circle around his head. His remaining eye is crystal blue, like a glass ocean Negan could dive into and swim in the waves for hours, as cliché as it is. His skin is pale, littered with little brown freckles that highlight his cheekbones and nose and cover his arms and shoulders. The flannel he was wearing today gave him a slight tan line on his forearms but his face is a little pink from the sun.

The bottom of his torso is bandaged, but not bloody surprisingly. The plaid quilt hangs lowly on his hips, and the boy’s teeth are pearly when he smiles. Negan places his hands on his hips and nods, “Yeah, I am. I’m sorry about that.”

Carl shakes his head, rolling his eyes. “Please, if anyone in this community was mad you wouldn’t be standing right now, let alone alive. So, don’t beat yourself too bad.”

Negan nods and shuts the door behind him, making his way over towards the bed. He sits where Carl’s thighs would be and looks down at him with a kind smile, “Thanks for the reassurance, kid.”

Carl laughs loudly, “You’re very welcome. I’m serious though, don’t feel too bad about shooting me, it’s definitely not my first time.” He gestures to his missing eye, which is now left exposed and Negan eyes it carefully.

“Damn, that is nasty.” Negan deadpans, and receives a punch to the shoulder. “Hey, fuck you.”

Negan laughs, “Relax, I was only kidding. I think that eye is pretty badass, you should keep it like that. Should give people a reason not to fuck with ‘ya.”

“Like shooting me in the stomach through a deer?”

“Yeah,” Negan nods jokingly, “like shooting you in the stomach through a deer.”

“Negan, right?” Negan nods. “I’m sure you know my name but I was raised to have manners, so my name’s Carl. Carl Grimes.” Carl smiles and Negan returns it.

The two sit in a comfortable silence for a while, listening to each other’s breathing before Carl hums suddenly, sitting up so his back is against the headboard. “How about, instead of sitting here in solemn silence, we play twenty questions. Get to know each other.”

Negan chuckles, his shoulder bouncing. “Yeah, sure. Why not. You start.”

Carl smiles, crossing his arms over his chest in thought. “How old are you?”

Negan rolls his eyes, positioning himself so he’s facing Carl better. “Everyone young wants to know that, huh? I should be around forty-seven now, if it’s been eight years since this whole shitshow began. How about you?”

“Eighteen, I remember my birthday by judging the seasons. If I live through winter, I’m a year older. You got a group?” 

“A few folks in a factory not far from here. How long have you all been here?”

“Should be two years now, and there were a lot of people here before us. Evacuated from DC, I think only a few are left. What are the names of your people?”

Negan sighs, racking his mind for a minute before answering. “Simon is my right hand man, Arat and her girlfriend, Isabelle, shithead Jared, rapey Davey, Mark and his wife, Amber, Fat Joey, Skinny Joey, and the two lovebirds; Dwight and Sherry. We plan to add more, we’re doing alright so far. Who is all in your family?”

Carl chews the inside of his cheek for a moment. “My mom died a few years back during labor, my little sister Judith made it, she should be three now. I’m sure you met my dad, Rick and his current girlfriend, Michonne. What about your family?”

“I didn’t have much of a family before the world lost its shit, only my wife Lucille. I cheated on her more than half the time, I didn’t deserve her. She knew of course, but she always made me dinner and breakfast for me. She got stage four something Cancer before all this. After she died I left her to rot in a hospital room, and jumped between groups, trios, and duos until I found Simon and his little pack. You see your mom die?”

Carl nods, “I shot her before she could...turn. You got yourself a bed warmer? You’re too handsome not to have one.”

Negan laughs, “No, no, I don’t have someone to hold. I haven’t since I lost Lucille. Thanks for the compliment though, how about yourself? Got some little lady to keep you happy?” 

Carl shook his head, giggling. “Unfortunately, I’m not into girls. Only been with two guys before, a nerd named Patrick who died of some glorified flu and a lovely asshat who called himself Jesus. It’s been a while since I’ve talked to him, but I’m glad. He was more addictive than nicotine to me. What are you?”

“Human and bisexual. I got no problem with you, alright? So don’t be shy. What do you like to do?”

“Besides hunting, reading comic books, playing video games and working on my aim. It’s gone to shit after I lost my eye. What’s up with that?” He points his head towards Negan’s bat.

Negan holds it up so they can admire it. “This here, is Lucille.” He drawls the name out, looking over at Carl. When I lost a big group of mine, the bat was the only thing left. A few years later, meet Simon and he wraps it in barbed wire to be more effective on humans. You kill people before?”

Carl reaches a hand out to hold Lucille and Negan hands it over to him. “Yeah, I have. Except, it’s not whether I have the heart to kill, more like I have the heart to do what I have to do. How about yourself?”

“A few, to protect my own skin and my people. Like with my wife I’ve left people to rot and turn. How many people you got here?”

“Too many to count. I’m only close with a few; Tara, Enid, Glenn, Maggie, Daryl, Michonne, and Denise.”

The two sit in silence for a while, somewhat comfortable. That is until Carl suddenly grabs Negan by the shoulders and guides him down beside him. Negan doesn’t fight it, just laughs and takes his jacket off, laying down.

Carl lays his head on Negan’s chest, listening to his heart thump behind his ribcage. Negan wraps an arm around Carl’s shoulders, and in response the teen tosses an arm over the man’s middle. 

“You like hunting?” Negan asks softly, voice muffled by Carl’s thick head of hair. Carl smiles to himself, “It’s not your turn to ask questions. And I like it more than you do.”

Negan hums, “How come? I’d think you hate it after this.”

“Would you relax? I want to sleep for once and I’m not sure about you, but I hate my pillows talking. And I love hunting, because it always brings something good.”

Slowly, Carl sits up slightly to place a small kiss on Negan’s cheek. “Kind of like you.”


End file.
